


Through the madness and chaos

by Perching_Owl



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Alien Flora & Fauna, Alien Planet, Being Lost, Blood and Injury, Fluff and Angst, Hospitalization, Hostage Situations, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, M/M, Whump, Whumptober 2020, yes I have another hostage situation and I know I've tagged this for the third time in a row
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:16:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27062542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perching_Owl/pseuds/Perching_Owl
Summary: Afterlife sucks.Or Macen isn't dead because waking up shivering strapped to an operating table doesn't feel like afterlife after all. Especially not with an alien leaning over him, who is cuffing his hand to the said table.Oh well, this is going swimmingly.
Relationships: Macen Barro/Avitus Rix
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13
Collections: Perching_Owl's Whumptober 2020 Collection





	Through the madness and chaos

**Author's Note:**

> Twentieth fill for the [whumptober 2020](https://whumptober2020.tumblr.com/)! I had a draft for this fic for a long while, but never found a chance to work through it. So, it turned out quite fluffy for whumptober. 
> 
> No 20. TOTO, I HAVE A FEELING WE’RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE **Lost** | Field Medicine | Medieval
> 
> Here is the [ Link](https://whumptober2020.tumblr.com/post/628055505485561856/whumptober-2020-updated) for the upcoming prompts.
> 
> Title is taken from 'Rise' by Katy Perry, though I prefer State of Mind's cover.

Afterlife sucks.

Or he isn't dead because waking up shivering strapped to an operating table. doesn't feel like afterlife after all. Especially not with an alien leaning over him, who is cuffing his hand to the said table. 

Oh well, this is going swimmingly.

His training kicks in. He isn't even sure if he has seen the weapon on the alien's belt. Lunging forward, he headbutts the alien. 'Always imagine your opponent is a Krogan' a voice which sounds very much like Avi sounds in his mind. His unrestrained hand flies to the dazed alien's belt. He finds something familiar. His hand closes around it as relief floods him for making the designs of a pistol's handle across the galaxies universal. He twirls it in his hand to get a proper grip.

Ignoring the shriek of the alien, he aims the pistol and shoots him in the face. The alien slumps down. He reveals two other aliens. They are stunned, so Macen shoots. It's instinct. Training. He cannot help but feel glad for his military training and the training sessions Avi has put him through because his reflexes have kicked in. Regret bubble up inside of him. He hasn't come to Andromeda to fight. If anything he wanted to get away from it, get Avi away from it.

Briefly, his vision blurs, the room tilts. Nausea threatens to overwhelm him. It's pod sickness all over again. Including that feeling of disorientation. 

Macen gives himself a few moments to collect himself. Of course, he knows, he cannot remain here, wherever here is. He is still alive though he has no idea how. His armoured suit has more pieces missing than them being there. His injury from before - well, before what exactly he isn't sure off - is still throbbing. The last thing he remembers is coming out of stasis, being bombarded with warnings, Dea reacting to the situation, she behind him as they try to make it for the Stasis pods to release them as they struggle with the Ark that is falling apart around them. He recalls her getting hit by debris, turning around to help her and then another piece of rubble slamming into his suit. He knows he has recorded a final message, but why? Had he been that close to dying?

Macen shakes his head. And he regrets it immediately, as there is Krogan hammering against his skull. After yet again pausing for a short moment, he frees himself from the straps of the operating table. His left side feels numb. He is nauseous, while his brain feels as if it is filled with cotton-candy. Well, that light-headedness might be due to an insufficient amount of blood inside his body. 

Oh, his hand reaches for the implant. It's still there, but as he asks 'SAM?' there is nothing. It feels strange to be disconnected because Macen is sure that shouldn't have happened. Except, a lot of things shouldn't have happened. He tries to think back, tries to remember what could have happened. It makes the dizziness worse for a brief moment. Anyway, he needs to get out here, especially if the aliens brought friends. He should get out of here.

For the first time, Macen takes in the lab he is held in though he is unsure if he can call such a filthy place that. It's cramped, especially now with the three bodies of the scientists. At least Macen thinks they are scientists. Across from his is another operating table or whatever that is, but a look has Macen reeling. Dea's body is strapped to the table, dead.

Macen needs to look away. He cannot afford to lose fluids or what meagre food is still inside his stomach. If there is any. He needs to get out of here. Suddenly dread fills him. What if they have Avi? Where is Avi? Is he here? He shouldn't be in this hellhole!

Macen takes a deliberate breath and immediately regrets it. He can taste the blood on his tongue, feel how it is suffocating him. Okay, getting out of here now. Without SAM. Without any idea what this entails. Without Avi.

Standing up is doable, especially when he leans against the wall and the table. His legs are shaky, but they are carrying him, which is good. There is also nobody coming to check on the aliens, which is even better. He makes it over to the terminal, but without SAM he cannot read the language and has zero ideas what he is doing. Peering around, he spots most of his suit. It is in bad shape - like he is - but at least it still has his omni-tool and the scanner bracelet. He pulls them on, needs to stop for a moment because the world tilts yet again.

When he is finished, he looks around the room. There is nothing in here, which can help him. With a sigh, he grips the pistol, promises to return for Dea and then opens the door with his omni-tool. Outside of the room, he is greeted with what appears a storage facility. The room is big, has a railing running around and lots of containers in the centre. They will provide cover for him. 

A big double-door is across the room from him while another, smaller one is to his left. Logic dictates he tries the bigger door as they would have needed to bring the crates in. Towards the big door it is. He begins to sneak towards the bigger door.

Half-way through the door, he finds two cryo escape pods. Both of them are damaged, not only from falling to the planet but also from being pried open. One of them is his, the other one must have belonged to Dea. There are only two pods. For a moment relief makes his knees weak. Then he gets himself under control, forcing his extremities and mandibles to behave. 

He gives them a quick inspection, but there is nothing he could use, so he sneaks further towards the bigger. He has taken only a few steps when a crate catches his eye. The items are familiar enough for him in shape to guess their function. Oh, that could get interesting.

Macen reaches for it when he hears one of the doors opening. The wind howls from the outside. A gust of cold blows through the room. He hears the aliens speaking in a different language. Even though the crates provide excellent cover, he cannot be sure, it's enough. Macen stills completely, trying not to even breathe. Melting into the shadow, Avi tells him. Getting up from his crouched position proves to be painful, the numb being replaced by throbbing. Macen presses jaws and mandibles together. He needs to get through this. He has to. 

The aliens have disappeared behind the other door, thankfully not to the lab. It leaves alone again with the contents of the crate. Macen gets to work. Making a tripwire is almost child's play even if it exhausts him. Covering your escape is essential, Avi's voice tells him. Or something close to. He should Avi the first chance he gets. 

Macen gives the room one last look. There is nothing in here, which he can use, but maybe outside will look better. Moving forward he approaches the door and lets his omni-tool open it.

No, the outside doesn't look better, it is bloody worse. If this is the afterlife, he wants a refund. If it is Heleus, he wants to go home, snuggle up to Avi and pretend he never had this idea in the first place. Because outside it is fucking cold. There is a fuckload of snow, guards everywhere with automatic and sniper rifles and he cannot kill them all. Avi could have done it.

Looking left and right he hastens over to a staircase and hides under it. The door closes, leaving no one is the wiser he has just left. The building around him doesn't look big, but there are several vehicles that look like transporters. There are big and heavy, most likely for hauling mining equipment and minerals.

Macen hopes they are going to handle like vehicles he knows as well. Guns appear to be same in every galaxy, so why shouldn't vehicles? Keeping a low profile, he hastens over to one of them, then stretches for what looks like a door handle. The cabin opens. Warmish air greets him. With a relieved sigh, Macen slides in and closes the door behind him.

Well, this is going to be interesting. In front of Macen is a touchpad, which looks like a wheel if one squinted hard enough. There are several buttons. He has no idea what any of them mean. Well, he needs to find out. Let's try the big red button in the corner first. The machine roars to life, a howl so loud it's going to alert everyone in his vicinity.

Macen pushes the next button. 

The vehicle jumps forward before coming to an abrupt stop. The engine howls. A shot rings out and hits the window. Flinching Macen looks at the board, then sees another, flashing button. He presses it until it turns green. He presses the second button. This time when the vehicle jumps forward, it ploughs through everything in his path. Hand brakes are universal then too, flashes through his mind. 

He mows down one alien, clips another vehicle and manages to drive over the containers marking the perimeter. Behind him, he hears noises, feels shots impacting his vehicle and sees warning lights flashing. It doesn't matter, he is off to goodness knows where, but at least away from this place. Behind him he hears a loud boom, then a shockwave pushes his car forward and his mandibles twitch. His tripwire bomb had worked rather well. He doesn't look back. 

Ploughing through white snow and the dark night isn't exactly a plan, but right not Macen doesn't have a better one. He looks around but sees little what could help. So, he drives. As best as he can in a straight line away from the laboratory. He concentrates on the task as best as he can because thinking about anything else will make him think about Avi and thinking about where Avi is. He needs to be alive. Otherwise, this would have all been pointless.

After an hour, he notices it is getting colder. Oh great. Life support in here is limited. Or his body is giving out. Macen's mind feels sluggish. He needs something to eat or medical attention. Both more likely. But how? And where?

Then driving over a crescent, he sees it. There is a mountain with a radio receiver on it. He recognises the design. At least he hopes he recognises the design and radio receivers don't look alike everywhere. Having that be a universal thing would be disappointing. Coming closer he sees a valley with a settlement. It appears like it is Initiative. With all his heart, he hopes it is.

Coming closer, he realises that it is indeed Initiative with a shuttle departing into the atmosphere, hovering above for a moment. The relief he feels is intense, it makes him light-headed, it makes him laugh. Albeit hysterical.

The first shot from the turret comes as a bit of a surprise. The second makes him realise he is driving an alien vehicle, which considering the reaction is not from a friendly fraction. Which he should have guessed because the aliens like to take them apart.

Macen stops the vehicle. He opens the door, raising his hands.

The third shot is overkill.

Macen loses his balance, falls face-first against the door, grabs for the door and then drops into the snow, which isn't so much snow as it is ice. Pain shots through his body, making him aware of every small injury, and he groans.

He tries to get up, but his body protests too much. Pain is everywhere - even his mandibles seem to still vibrate from the fall. Why do the vehicles need to be so stupidly tall?

He tries to get up again, but it is not happening. Hopefully, somebody from the settlement will check out the vehicle and will be so kind as to get him some medical attention.

Well, someone is going to come. At some point.

Everything hurts. Macen feels his mind slipping into exhaustion, darkness and maybe even death. He closes his eyes, remembering Avi.

Avi smiling, Avi humming with affection, subvocals vibrating. Avi, who watched over him on the stasis pod.

I want to see you again, Macen thinks. I want to know if you are alright.

He opens his eyes as he hears steps on the snow, then faster steps and then he sees a shadow falling over him.

'No Kett. It's a Turian, get medical. Shit. Must be one from the ark.'

He feels a hand on his, then a voice telling him to hold on.

It sounds human.

* * *

After that a lot is blurry. Macen knows he has been put on pain medication. He is grateful for that because instead of hurting he is spaced out.

He spends time both in a medbay and in a transport shuttle, knows he is being moved, but it's all blurry, soft and woozy. Voices keep asking him how he is doing. He tries to answer, but it is too much. His body is exhausted from fighting, not obeying him anymore.

At some point he is jostled again, it hurts, but then he is being moved. And then there is the most beautiful man at his side he has ever seen. He looks a lot like Avi. But more even more handsome. No, no-one is more handsome than Avi.

The man opens his mouth, but Macen doesn't listen. If Avi allows it, he would love to ask Mr Handsome out, they could really enjoy themselves because Avi doesn't look like it, but he has -

The man looks scandalised, mandibles clicking, and well, Macen can understand that. He is probably taken. Avi is taken too, but Avi is his and he is the most precious thing in all the galaxies.

With that thought, he drifts off again into blissful darkness.

* * *

Again it is a surprise to wake up. 

Though waking up is something he should get used to even though he feels like shit every time. His throat is dry, his eyes scratchy and everything hurts in different degrees. This time, when he wakes up and opens his eyes there is no alien leaning over him and he doesn't feel any restraints on his body. Well, that's a plus.

So, Macen thinks, moving is definitely out. His body feels heavy and disconnected. Well, he is still medicated. It would also explain the set-up of the room. It definitely looks like a medical bay. A medical bay designed by the Initiative that is. There is the symbol on the wall, the colours look familiar and the layout reminds him of the design for the Nexus. He is most likely on the Nexus.

Macen is about to close his eyes and go back to sleep because he is safe when something tugs at his mind. Something doesn't quite add up. His hands? They are different, the temperature and- wait, someone is gently resting his hand on top of his.

Looking down, it is indeed a hand, definitely Turian, definitely familiar. He moves his head, turning and even though that sends a twinge down one side, the sight next to him more than makes up for it.

Avitus Rix is sitting next to him in a chair, having popped his head up with a hand on the chair. His other hand rests on Macen's. He must have fallen asleep like this, watching over him. It warms Macen's heart. He cannot the affection, subvocals brimming with it, as he says, 'Avi.'

At once, Avitus is awake, eyes snapping open, posture snapping up. His grip tightens around Macen's. Then his gaze softens again when he sees Macen is awake. When he speaks, his voice shakes with emotion, 'Macen, you are awake. I- we, well everyone thought we had lost you.'

'And yet here I am,' Macen replies. He squeezes Avi's hand, even though moving even the slightest bits of muscle hurts. 'I'd told you, you wouldn't get rid of me so easily.'

Something changes in Avi's eyes. They become filled with pain and sadness, more than there should ever be in his partner's eyes. They have decided to come to Andromeda to make things better after all. He has come here to make Avi's eyes shine again. 

'What's wrong?' he asks.

Avi grips his hand, bowing his head, and Macen can feel him trembling. He looks up and Macen has the feeling that whatever has happened with the spectres has broken his spirit, but this is Avi's heart-breaking. He tightens his grip in turn, tries to sit up to comfort, but then Avi relaxes and he says with a voice raw from emotion and pain, 'I thought you were dead for a whole month.'

'Oh,' something in Macen twists. He understands the horror. He couldn't have imagined feeling Avi being ripped away from him. Not, when they had just their new life and he had been pathfinder while Avi had been his second-in-command, watching his back.

He tugs at the hand. Avi understands, leaning over and resting their foreheads against each other, Avi's other hand sneaking to his mandible and gently caressing it. Macen murmurs, 'I am here now. We will still be together.'

'Yes, we will,' Avi says, emotions finally closer to controlled instead of pained. 'And then you can have your role as pathfinder back.'

'Somehow I believe you are doing a good job,' Macen replies. 'Besides recovery is going to take a while.'

At that Avi grows sombre again. 'Yes, you will have use of your legs again, but it is indeed going to take a while. But I am here for every step of the way.'

'Even though those steps might take a while?'

'Yes, especially for those.'

For a moment there is silence, then Macen says, 'I love you.'

'I love you too,' Avi replies, gruff, but affection there.

'Love you more. You are the most precious thing in all the galaxies.'

Avi pauses, sighs before responding, 'If you ever say that again in front of an audience, I am going to rethink my decision for coming to Andromeda.'

'I have only ever told you that, you know?'

'No, you did not only tell me that. Listen, I know you were out of it during your transport, but please, try to keep your mouth shut even with medication.'

'I cannot have been that embarrassing - besides I barely remember anything. There was this Turian though, who was so handsome - like you wouldn't believe.'

'Believe me, I know,' Avi's expression darkens. 

But Macen waves him off. 'Don't worry I think I asked him out on a date, but he looked somewhat taken aback-'

'Oh, that he was.'

'-but I told him I was Avi's and Avi's mine.'

'Yes, he was very much aware of that fact.'

Macen frowns and even that slightly twinges. 'I have the feeling you not telling me something.'

'That handsome Turian was me. You propositioned a threesome with you, me and well, me in front of the entire medical staff and the staff of the human pathfinder ship. Everyone was highly amused. Except for yours truly, who was at the centre of it.' Avi looks so disgruntled about that that Macen cannot help himself. He breaks out into laughter, which hurts, but it is good pain and when he quietens he can see Avi is smiling.

'I'm so glad you are okay,' he says and places a kiss on Macen's forehead, below his clan marking.

Avi smiles, yawns and then says 'Me, too' before he drops off to sleep, his hand still held gently by Avi.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, kudos and constructive criticism appreciated :) Thank you for reading!


End file.
